The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, vol. 75

November 15, 1898

“Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 734.

“DESIRE spiritual gifts.” Do you? If not, why? ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.1

Surely this is as plain an injunction as there is in the Bible. Why, then, should you not obey it? ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.2

Perhaps you will say that you have long desired to see spiritual gifts manifested in the church, and have even wondered why they were not. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.3

But that is not what the Scripture says; it does not say, Desire spiritual gifts manifested in the church; but, “Desire spiritual gifts;” that is, Desire them manifested in yourself. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.4

“Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God.” Romans 14:22. Suppose you should see all the gifts manifested in the church, and yet none of them be manifested in yourself, what good would that do? You could even see all this, and yet be lost yourself. Do you not know that thousands, yes, the whole world, will see all these gifts manifested in the church, and yet it will do them no good! ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.5

No; this is an individual matter. True, the gifts are to be manifested in the church; but this can be only by their being manifested in each individual member of the church. The gifts are divided “to every man severally.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.6

Are you a member of the church? Do you belong to the body of Christ? Do you believe in Jesus? Then you are to desire that the gifts of the Spirit shall be manifested in yourself. If this is not so with yourself, you can not be ready to meet the Lord. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.7

Yet to “desire spiritual gifts” is only a part of the injunction,—the subordinate part, too. The whole of it is, “Follow after charity, AND desire spiritual gifts.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.8

To desire spiritual gifts is altogether proper. Yet to do this without charity’s being held solely in view, would be altogether vain; because though we had all the gifts, and yet had not charity, it would profit us nothing, and we would be nothing. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.9

Then as the only true way to desire spiritual gifts is to desire them upon yourself, and as the only proper connection in which to desire them is to follow after charity and desire them, it follows that you must follow after charity yourself, and desire spiritual gifts manifested upon yourself in order that you may attain that thing after which you are following. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.10

And the charity after which you are to follow is the bond of perfectness, it is the love of God. And as “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,” then it is certain that the thing after which we are to follow while we are desiring spiritual gifts, is the keeping of the commandments of God. And the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the third angel’s message. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.11

There can be no true keeping of the commandments of God without charity; there can be no true charity without spiritual gifts; there can be no spiritual gifts without the gift of the Holy Ghost; therefore without the gift of the Holy Ghost, there can be no true third angel’s message. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.12

“Ask, and it shall be given you.” “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” “Be filled with the Spirit.” “Desire spiritual gifts.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.13

“God’s Rest” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 734.

IT was God’s rest into which Israel were to enter in the land to which he would lead them when he brought them out of Egypt. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.1

This is certainly true, because when he tells us of Israel’s unbelief, he declares that the consequence was, “They shall not enter into my rest.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.2

God’s rest is eternal rest; for as God is the eternal God, his rest can be nothing else than eternal rest. And as it was his rest into which Israel was to enter in the land to which he would have led them when he brought them out of Egypt, so it was eternal rest which they would have found in the promised land if they had believed God. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.3

As God is Spirit, so his rest is only spiritual. And as spiritual things are only spiritually discerned, the only way in which the people of Israel could possibly enter into his rest, was by faith. Therefore while it is written that “they could not enter in because of unbelief,” it is also written, “We which have believed do enter into rest.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.4

As it was God’s rest into which Israel was to enter, and as God’s rest is eternal, so it was not only eternal rest into which he desired Israel then to enter, but it was the very rest which he prepared at the foundation of the world for man then to enter and enjoy eternally. For as “the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3), so also was the rest prepared from the foundation of the world. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.5

But though this rest was prepared for man at the foundation of the world, there the man missed it, there he failed to enter in; and he failed because of unbelief. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.6

Then when the time came for Israel to leave Egypt, “the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham” to give to him and to his seed, which is Christ, the land which he had promised, which was the world to come, the place which he had made for himself to dwell in, the mountain of the Lord’s inheritance, the sanctuary which his hands had established. In other words, the time had then come for them to enter the rest which was prepared for man at the foundation of the world, but which, through unbelief, the man missed. And through unbelief they also missed it; they also failed to enter into God’s rest. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.7

Yet though man at the foundation of the world failed to enter into this rest that God had prepared; and though Israel also failed to enter into this rest which, at the foundation of the world, God had prepared, this is not by any means to say that this rest itself has failed. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.8

No; this rest remains. Thank the Lord! It remained after Adam’s failure, and waited till the time when the promise drew nigh which God had sworn to Abraham. And when Israel failed to enter into it, it still remains, it still waits for people to enter in. It was prepared at the foundation of the world for mankind to enter and enjoy forevermore. And being prepared for this purpose, it still remains and waits for that great purpose to be fulfilled. It was prepared for mankind to enter, and mankind must enter into it. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.9

“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief; again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time; ... to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:6, 7. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.10

“For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.” That is to say, If Joshua had of the people into the rest which God had prepared,—God’s rest,—then God would not afterward, away down in David’s time, have said: To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as did they in the provocation in the wilderness, lest you fail to enter into my rest as they failed to enter into it. And as in David’s day this rest remained, and waited, for men to enter in, so in our day it still remains. Thank the Lord! ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.11

“There remaineth [present tense] therefore a rest to the people of God.” And it is the same rest that Adam missed, and that Israel missed; and both through unbelief. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.12

“Wherefore take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.13

“True Moral Science” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, pp. 734, 735.

IN the realm of morals, which is character, since men have forgotten the true morality, and have become altogether immoral; since “they have all gone out of the way,” and have “together become unprofitable;” since “there is none that seeketh after God,“—unless God should abandon them utterly, it is essential that there should be set before men the true standard of character in such a way that they shall be drawn to the contemplation of it. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.1

Yet though man had become altogether immoral, God could not abandon him; because he is “the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.2

Therefore he formulated for man a transcript of his own character in such a form as to be particularly adapted to the condition and needs of man altogether as he is. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.3

This transcript of the character of God, this true standard of character, is formulated in the law of God, the ten commandments. And while “the God of nature has written his existence in all his works,” he has also “written his law in the heart of man.” And here are the ten commandments:— ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.4

“1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.5

“2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 734.6

“3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.1

“4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.2

“5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.3

“6. Thou shalt not kill. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.4

“7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.5

“8. Thou shalt not steal. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.6

“9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.7

“10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.8

It was necessary for the Lord to present his law, the transcript of his character, in this form, just because of the essential immorality of mankind. For “the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” 1 Timothy 1:9, 10. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.9

As this is a description of man just as he is naturally, in the world, it is easy to see how perfectly adapted to his condition, how perfectly calculated to awaken him and draw him away from himself, is that law saying to him: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me;” “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;” “Honor thy father and thy mother;” “Thou shalt not kill;” “Thou shalt not stead;” and “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.10

This would reveal to man the knowledge of himself, would show him that he is altogether wrong, and would awaken him to the desire for something better and the longing to get away from himself. Then, to satisfy this desire, “the Desire of all nations” would “come,” and present himself to him; and, when accepted by him, would deliver him from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.11

So “the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: THAT as sin hath reigned unto death, EVEN so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20, 21. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.12

And “what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified [made moral] in is sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin, but now the righteousness [the morality, the character] of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of god which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned [have become immoral], and have come short of the glory [the character, the morality] of God. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.13

“Being justified [made moral] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness [his morality]; that he might be just [moral], and the justifier [the one who make moral] of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:19-25. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.14

This transformation of men from immorality to morality by the faith of Jesus Christ is the only true moral science: it is the only true science of character. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.15

This is divine science, and it is the only moral science that is worthy to be studied in any Christian school, in any Seventh-day Adventist school. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.16

“Some Good Principles in Education” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 735.

IN answer to question as to what are the characteristics which adapt a boy to become a naval officer, Mr. Park Benjamin publishes an article in the Independent of October 5, in which are found valuable hints to any boy who would succeed anywhere in life. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.1

First, he must have “sound health and a good constitution.” Then, having these, he must have “quick intelligence and a capacity for study.” And while to be a naval officer he “has got to be a navigator, a seaman, an astronomer, a gunner, a lawyer,—versed in both international and military law,—an electrician, a surveyor, a torpedoist, a chemist, a diplomatist, a metallurgist, and a steam engineer,” he must really be competent in all these things, and “must avoid being a ‘Jack of all trades and master of none.’” And “the only solution” of this problem “lies in study capacity,—the power to recognize and grasp principles, rather than to memorize tasks.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.2

And there is a world of valuable suggestion in this statement: “The prize scholar, who declaims Burke’s orations at school exhibitions, or writes thoughtful essays on his understanding of Robert Browning’s poems, is less promising, on the whole, than the youth who has a bulldog grip on the multiplication table; and who, in these days of Keely motors and gold-from-sea-water delusions, can not be led by any mathematical or mechanical jugglery into a doubt that the product of two and two is ever anything but exactly four.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.3

There is also instruction for schools and teachers everywhere in the statement that “the Naval Academy does not cram its students, nor attempt to do so; but it requires from them this capacity for study, and then teaches them how to use it; and as a consequence there is a sort of versatility... which enables them effectively to grapple with widely separated branches of knowledge. The boy, therefore, who shows no talent except such as depends on the power of memory will be handicapped in the navy race.... The navy is no place for dreamers, nor for people who merely know why, without knowing how.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.4

These are sound principles, and are worth thinking of by all, in these days when thousands in the world are longing for something better in education than is commonly given; and when god is longing to show to the world the very best principles and system of education. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 735.5

“Editorial Note” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 736.

A CORRESPONDENT of the Christian Herald, Dr. Talmage’s paper, asks this question: “How many Christians are there in the United States?” The answer is as follows: “The total number of communicants in the churches of the United States, according to Dr. Henry K. Carroll’s statistics for 1890, is 23,202,901. Deducting from this number, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, Jews, and communistic societies, the total is 22,823,711.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.1

Well, well! this is the first time we were aware that Seventh-day Adventists could not be regarded as Christians. The Christian Herald, apparently, has as little knowledge of who Seventh-day Adventists are, and of what they believe, as does the Missionary Review concerning their missionary operations, reference to which was made a short time ago. Never mind. Seventh-day Adventists will continue to represent Christ in their daily lives, and people will take knowledge that they have “been with Jesus,” whether they can be classed as “Christians” or not. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.2

But hold: maybe we are too fast! the correspondent asked for the number of Christians. The Christian Herald gave the number of communicants, deducting the Seventh-day Adventists, and others. As we are deducted from communicants, maybe we might be allowed among the Christians about whom the correspondent asked; for, plainly enough, not all communicants are Christians. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.3

“‘People’s Churches’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 736.

“PEOPLE’S churches” are becoming quite common in every part of the country. The spirit of the age in which we live seems to demand something different from what in general has been, and is, in the way of church organization. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.1

It is quite possible that the churches are, to a greater or less extent, responsible for these “people’s churches.” When churches rise above the common people, who are always the majority, the people will seek something that will have the appearance of meeting their desires. If the churches become so exacting in enforcing the letter of their man-made creeds that more effort is made to vindicate certain rules than to teach the gospel, many will seek for something that is better adapted to their way of thinking. These and many other evils in the churches create openings for new organizations. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.2

Many of these churches have adopted good mottos to characterize their organizations. “The fatherhood of God,” “The brotherhood of man,” “The unity of nature,” and such like phrases, are good and Christian. But the development of these ideas by human minds makes the organizations which profess them as intolerant as some of the present church creeds. More than this, many of these new societies are making the way so broad that no moral change is required for the mass of the people to become identified with them. Here is a danger. The work of the atonement, the work of regeneration, and the power of Jesus Christ to keep individuals from sinning, are largely left out; and in most instances the whole thing is made to depend upon human will power. This makes the road easy, and lulls to sleep thousands who will awaken to find that they have lost what they most needed, and that what they have avails them nothing. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.3

There is a people’s church that is founded not on mere mottos, but on living principles. This is the church of which Jesus Christ is head. There is in it no caste. No favors are granted to wealth, but all stand on the same level. Only one thing is respected, and that is character. There is no respect of persons. All who believe the Word of truth are members of this body. It is a church for the people; therefore it is a “people’s church.” In this church there is no lowering of the true standard. There is no courting of wealth or of fame. The membership may not have any record in earthly annals; but it has a record on high. The creed is simple, yet it contains all that is good. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.4

“Editorial Notes” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, pp. 736, 737.

ANOTHER “notable” event in the journey of the emperor of Germany to Jerusalem was the sultan’s making to him a present of a piece of ground on Mount Zion, which, according to tradition, was formerly occupied by the abode of the Virgin Mary. October 31 the Turkish and German flags were hoisted together on the spot, and formal possession was taken by the emperor, who immediately gave it to the German Catholics, and sent to the pope the following telegram:— ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.1

I am happy to be able to inform your Holiness, that, thanks to the benevolent intervention of His Majesty the sultan, who has not hesitated to give me this proof of his personal friendship, I have been able to acquire at Jerusalem the abode of the Holy Virgin. I decided to place this ground, hallowed by so many pious memories, at the disposal of the Catholic subjects. It rejoices my heart to be able now, to prove how dear to me are the religious interests of the Catholics whom divine Providence has placed in my care. I beg Your Holiness to accept the assurance of my sincere attachment. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 736.2

The pope replied, thanking His Majesty, and expressing satisfaction at the gift, for which he was sure the German Catholics would be deeply grateful. And Cardinal Kopp, Prince-Bishop of Breslau, whom the emperor had informed of his acquisition of the abode of the Virgin, said to him:— ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.1

Your Majesty has added a new link to the chain of current proofs of your just disposition and sovereign solicitude for your Catholic subjects; and at the same time you have instituted a lasting inheritance, which as given joy to the whole of Catholic Christianity, and will always be held and cherished by German Catholics in grateful remembrance of an emperor’s magnanimity. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.2

“Last-Day Scoffers” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 737.

“KNOWING this first, that there shall come in the last days, scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4. “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” Jude 11. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.1

The way of Cain is murderous infidelity. The error of Balaam is the wilful opposing of God, and the leading of his people into idolatrous fornication. The gainsaying of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is the representing of ecclesiastical authority as priestcraft, and civil authority as tyranny. All these sins are to be represented by the last-day scoffers; but there will be true faith in the world at the same time. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.2

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” In what did the faith of Abel consist? Wherein was his sacrifice more excellent than his brother’s?—He believed in the Redeemer to come, whose blood was to be shed for his transgression. By this faith, Abel offered the bloody typical sacrifice of a victim. Cain had no such faith; but rejecting the work of atonement, he offered the bloodless, untypical sacrifice of the fruits of the earth. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.3

While the great masses of the people are denying the atonement, and the personal second coming of Christ, there are a few, here and there, who believe the word of the Lord. These live by faith, although scoffers are on every hand. In fact, the scoffers strengthen the faith of the believers, instead of discouraging them. when they hear the scoffers say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” they remember that the Lord has said that in the last days men will say these very words. By this they know that they are living in the last days. They know that when the scoffers have come, it will not be long until Jesus will come. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.4

“‘Go, and Do Thou Likewise’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 737.

WE have lately received a letter from a sister in Wisconsin, recounting the Lord’s dealings with her and her husband, when by faith they moved out from an established church, and let their light shine. They were poor in this world’s goods, yet they did not hesitate to “go forward” as the Lord commanded. They moved to a place where they were impressed that he had called them, not knowing any one there. Afterward they found a sister with four small children, and four young people there; but their light had almost died out. A Sabbath-school was soon organized. In a short time, sorrow entered their circle. Two young men died. Then hard times came on; the husband could not secure employment sufficient to meet the family expenses; so the wife was obliged to do plain sewing, washing, etc., to make up the deficit. They prayed daily for bread; the Lord did not send loaves, but work to earn the loaves. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.1

During all this time they ceased not to do missionary work. They held Bible readings, distributed papers, lent tracts, and sold books. The Lord blessed their efforts, and soon the seed sown began to spring up and bear fruit. One after another accepted the truth, until now they have a church membership of twenty-seven, fourteen of whom came into the truth through Bible readings held. Their Sabbath-school numbers forty-seven; and the end is not yet, as there is at present a greater interest to hear than ever. The members have caught the missionary spirit, and are faithful in paying tithes, and are alive to the work of the message in all its phases. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.2

This brother and sister are obliged to earn their living by day’s work; yet aside from their daily labor, they are themselves using one hundred copies of the Signs, twenty-five Sendbuds, twenty-five Väktares, and ten Hausfreund in house-to-house work, besides holding some Bible readings. The sister says there is nothing that so rests and refreshes her after a hard day’s labor as to go to the home of some earnest inquirers after truth, and sit down and unfold to them the truth as it is in Jesus. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.3

We commend this to many in our large churches, who have heard the message, “Arise, shine;” for just as surely as this brother and sister who were obliged to borrow the money to pay their moving expenses, were blessed of the Lord in this act of faith, so surely will hundreds of others, who will do likewise, receive a blessing. We shall soon see more of this work; for the Lord is clothing his people with power to go out as witnesses for him. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.4

Let the glad day hasten when our people will everywhere awake to the possibilities within their reach of telling the world of the Saviour’s soon coming. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.5

“Work to a Purpose” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, pp. 737, 738.

MANY a young person fails in life for want of a purpose; and many more do not accomplish half that they might if they only had some specific object in view when they enter school. Spending long years in school, poring over books, with no definite object in view, only to acquire “mental” training and crowd the mind with abstract facts, is not education. There is much to-day that passes for education that is of no practical value, and all the time spent on it is worse than wasted. These are time when it is better to have a thorough knowledge of one or two things than to be in possession of a smattering of information on a variety of subjects. In mechanics it is better to be master of one trade than to be “Jack of all trades, and master of none.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.1

Every student who enters any of our schools this fall should not do so without first deciding to what use he is going to put the knowledge that he gains. Then if he will work to this object, whatever it may be, he will accomplish two or three times as much as he could possibly accomplish with no definite object in view. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.2

The other day we saw a practical illustration of this: A young man in the Review and Herald Office has been working here for nearly two years. Like many other boys of his age, he had no object in view except to “learn the trade.” This being so, he took no pains to learn anything beyond his daily routine work; his thoughts were dismissed from his work the minute the whistle blew at six o’clock. The result is that while he has done as well as boys of his age usually do, he has not accomplished half that he might have accomplished if he had taken a keen interest in his work, and labored with some definite object in view, and with his mind thoroughly set to accomplish it. Now there is a prospect that he will go to a foreign country; and a knowledge of printing, such as he might have secured, but which he has not obtained, would prove highly valuable. “If I had only known that I was to be called off in this way, I would have worked differently,” he says; “I would have learned much more about the business than I now know. I wish I could stay here six months longer.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 737.3

The thought we desire to impress on our young friends is that opportunities for qualified workers are increasing every year. Whatever work falls to you, put into it all your energies. Master your work as you go. Then if you are thus called off, you will not be a bungler, but will be able to do well what comes to your hand. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.1

“He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” A student who learns a lesson simply to recite it does not really learn the lesson, and does not know it. Only he who learns his lesson to know it, really knows it. The boy who “learns a trade,” or a part of a trade, to get a job, will not be fit for the job when he gets it. He will be a bungler. He who learns a trade or a part of a trade to know it, to be master of it, will be fit for any job in that line, and can not only get it, but can keep it, because he is fit for it. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth [not what your eyes see] to do, do it with thy might.” ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.2

“Editorial Bits” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 738.

DR. PARKHURST, of New York City, has heretofore entertained very optimistic views of the future, and has been particularly sanguine regarding a change of sentiment. According to the daily papers, he has lately begun a series of Sunday sermons in his Madison Square church, which are decidedly pessimistic. He claims that despite all that men may say to the contrary, the world is going from bad to worse. He is quoted as saying:— ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.1

Behaving one’s self regularly, makes a man tired. There is no kind of work a man does wherein he so soon feels the need of a vacation as the work of “being good.” The tendency toward deterioration that began to work even during the apostolic age of the church has been working just as distinctly, if not so rapidly perhaps, since the days of Luther. I am speaking of what observant Christian people know to be true when I say that the English Established Church stands to-day just as much in need of a Luther to recover it from its soullessness and apostasy and general mummery as did the church in the fifteenth century. With its crucifixes and its confessionals, it is as Romish as Rome, apostate, only lacking the destiny of every church. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.2

Rome and perdition are the destiny of every church that does not obey the call to come out of Babylon. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.3

“Editorial Item” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46, p. 738.

THE world is full of nominal Christians, who profess faith in the word of God, and affirm that they believe its promises; but there are few who really do believe them. Would you be a man of faith? Cultivate the faculty. Put your finger on the passages of Scripture on which your faith rests, and believe them, never wavering. This will give you the constancy of Jacob; and, like him, you may have your name changed to Israel. ARSH November 15, 1898, page 738.1